They say the surest way of striking a successful conversation with a Brit is to start with the weather, preferably over a cup of tea. To certain extent, we are a bit obsessed with talking about the weather. Outsiders think we moan when it’s wet, when it’s hot, when it snows or even when the leaves fall. I mean it is true to a certain extent but for the most part, we just like talking about something that everyone can relate to and the weather fits perfectly.

Did you know 2012 was the second wettest year for Britain since records began? 2012 had an average rainfall of 1,330.7mm and only 6.6mm short of the record set in 2000. There you go, bet you did not know that did you? Thought you would appreciate a completely unrelated trivia. You are welcome! #Sideeye.

Anyway back to the issue at hand. Whiles the weather is completely out of our control, what we wear through the seasons is and that is where this post comes in.

Just because the heavenly precipitations aka rain has not yet completely relented does not mean you have to go through your wardrobe to dig out your raincoat or other heavy garment. It is true that the unpredictable weather can be cruel at times when you least expect it but let’s not panic just yet. I recon you can still look the part without wrapping yourself with too many layers.

I have put together a few photos of two looks that I think are versatile and practical for the season. A friend and brother Oliver Kumawu was kind enough to model with me to demonstrate these looks.

Oliver opted for a smart-casual look whiles I went for a more business friendly look.

There are three key ingredients to explore in both looks, which are as follows:

Blazer

You have to have the blazer. The appropriate use of a blazer can easily transform a casual look into smart-casual, and smart-casual into smart. Every man should have at least three blazers in their wardrobes bearing in mind colours that are versatile.

Oliver opted for a velvet blazer which he pulls off very well. Velvet itself is a statement fabric that speaks volumes of the owner. Get it wrong and you would be sorry you ever considered it an option at all. But get it right and you‘re the man, literally. Wear one of these on a wet and cold day and you won’t need additional layers as the weave of the fabric is very close together restricting air flow which in turn keeps you warm.

I on the other hand wore the first half of a midnight blue wool blend suit. Because the jacket is contemporary and close cut at the shoulders and waist area, I am able to mix and play around with it with different combinations with relative ease.

Trouser

Oliver wore a burgundy/redish pair of classic chinos whiles I went for a grey with a hint of brown lightly stripped pair of dress trouser.

Shoes

I wore a pair of brown tasselled loafers whiles Oliver went for a pair of blue suede wingtip oxford lace up brogues which complement the colour of his shirt. The fact that his shoes are suede perfectly suits the texture of his velvet blazer.

Oh and the pocket squares gave both looks an extra dimension of suaveness.

So there you have it. Whiles we wait for summer to make a grand entry for 2015, we can still look the part for the remaining few days of the wet and slightly chilled weather.

Lymington. Ever heard of an English town called Lymington? If you have, I must say that you are better travelled and better informed than I am. If not then you are in good company and bear with me while I put this post together. But before delving into details about Lymington, let me make a little confession by saying that I seldom visit the English countryside. Not that I do not want to but because I was of the mind-set that there are hundreds of countries and cities around the world that i’d rather visit first before exploring places closer to home. I used the past indicative word “was” above as this is no longer the case after my visit to Lymington. Thanks to a friend Oliver who put together an amazing weekend to Lymington for 21 people for his 30th birthday, I can now honestly say my interest in exploring the English countryside has been rekindled.

Sitting in one of the passenger seats of a 4×4 vehicle driven by the birthday boy himself on a Friday afternoon felt like forever in the London traffic. For a minute, I thought to myself it would have been much better to travel by rail rather than snaking through the streets of London already packed with vehicles, who like us, were leaving for the weekend. Soon enough, the temptation to coax myself to sleep (with only 2 hours sleep the previous night) crept into my thoughts but of course this would have been rude to the three other friends I was sharing the vehicle with. As we hit the highway toward Heathrow airport, my mind drifted again and I started counting the European cities I could reach with the amount of time spent driving to Lymington.

Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Prague, Florence, Lisbon, St Pertersburg all came to mind. Ok not St Petersburg but you get the point. My mind was everywhere but Lymington. As vivid imagination of what my next holiday should be like engulf my mind, Oliver interrupted my day dreaming to introduced us to a version of Charades he called Donkey. Not sure if the game itself is actually called donkey or just his way of insulting the loser who will be called donkey. #Sideeye. This lightened up the mood as we drove past beautiful landscape on both sides of the highway.

As laughter and jokes from the game filled the vehicle I got excited and started to look forward to the weekend.

The cottage, Silverland, is located within the New forest national park which means there are plenty of activities to do during our stay. After getting lost for about 15 minutes, we were greeted by the landlord who was waiting outside the property and ushered us in through an opened electronic gate that revealed a beautiful black and white 19th century English country cottage seated on 4 acres of land.

Imagine our delight and excitement. As Londoners, this was a welcomed change to the usual hustle and bustle of the city life. The thatched roof, wooden beams, leaded windows, inglenook fire place all gave the cottage an authentic period look, while the outdoor heated pool, treehouse and massive garden gave the property a modern functional twist. As we walked through the dark wooden front door it then occurred to me that I have never before been in an English cottage. Standing in the hallway, I noticed the spacious living room with cosy sofas to the right and on the left a door leading to the study. To my immediate right was the stairway decorated with African art leading up to the bedrooms, and just ahead was a door which I figured later lead to the kitchen. The kitchen is very spacious with two bay windows leading out into the garden. The interior décor vary from one room to another revealing art and wall hangings from countries around the world. Stepping out into the garden with a sizable swimming pool felt like I was stepping into a completely different world. The deafening quietness of the woods combined with the greenery of the garden and nearby bushes providing a perfect oasis of tranquillity. I could easily get used to this I muttered underneath my breath.

Lymington itself is a Georgian town located between Southampton and Bournemouth known internationally as a sailing resort. It has three marinas with a population of over 15,000 people. This coastal town is truly beautiful with so many outdoor activities to keep any visitor busy. North of Lymington is the ancient woodlands of New forest and to the south is the Solent. The Solent is a body of water that separate the Isle of Wight from the mainland.

Oh and yes, did I mention our trip to the Isle of Wight yet?

Our weekend away included a day trip to the Isle of Wight, which turned out to be one of my personal highlights of the entire trip. Listen, if you ever visit Lymington, I urge you to set aside time to visit this beauty. Better yet, make a trip solely for the Isle of Wight so you can experience what I am talking about. Everything was magical from the ferry cross to the walk along the Western Yar. The Western Yar is one of two yars on the Isle of Wight and the closest to Yarmouth harbour. The yar is so beautiful and tranquil and continue to reveal its treasures in the form of wildlife and natural beauty on each side of the foot tracks as we walked from the Yarmouth Bridge towards freshwater bay. The estuary is approximately 3.8 miles long so put on some comfortable shoes if you intend to walk the entire stretch.

Upon returning from the Isle of Wight, the smell of the barbeque, games in and around the swimming pool, music blaring from a playlist I made the previous night and sounds of happy chatters all underneath the stars of the night, the cottage yet again reveals another facet of its allure.

Needless to say that everyone was tired the following morning as we slowly filed into vehicles parked outside the cottage. It was time to return to busy and fast paced London. The cottage life has somehow come to an end. An end that seem to have come way too early.

As promised in a previous post about Prague, I have put together another set of photos of this wonderful city. This city does not need introduction when it comes to architecture. If you are into architecture then you would definitely appreciate the architectural diversity Prague has to offer. Lonely planet wrote “Prague is a living laboratory of 1000 years of European architecture. Fans of Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, neoclassical and art nouveau will all find plenty to gawk at. Gothic marvels such as the Charles Bridge and St Vitus Cathedral rival the best in Europe. More eclectic 20th-century styles like cubism, functionalism and even ‘communism’ are represented as well, creating an entrancing labyrinth of contrasting styles that complete a remarkably cohesive whole”.

I would even challenge anyone who isn’t bothered about architecture to visit Prague and not be intrigued and stimulated by this. If and when you visit Prague, here are a few places, buildings and points of interest I would encourage visitors to see: Charles bridge, Old town square, St. Vitus Cathedral, Astronomical clock, Prague castle, Petrin Lookout tower, Dancing house, Prague national theatre, Kampa Island, Church of our lady before Tyn, National Museum, St Nicholas Church, and Powder gate.

I am sure there are many other places to see but these are just the ones from the top of my head.

Before you browse through the pictures, here are a few facts about Prague you might find interesting:

– Prague Castle is the biggest ancient castle in the world.

– Prague’s nick name is the city of a hundred spires.

– The population of Prague is over 1.2 million

– The Vltava River which is Czech republic’s longest river flows through Prague.

– Prague was the seat of two Holy Roman Emperors

Enjoy the photos and please leave a comment or share your experiences from Prague (if you have any) for other readers. Prague by River

Family is a word that evokes so much feelings and emotions that cannot be summed up in words but rather shown through actions.

The oxford dictionary defines family as “a group consisting of two parents and their children living together” or more aptly “a group of people related by blood or marriage”. The term blood by itself (in the second definition) is enough to conjure a feeling of belonging and one of real connection. A connection even nature itself cannot undo.

Family is the most basic but yet most important unit of any society.

I personally think that family is God’s way of teaching us how to relate to him through service, accountability, challenging each other in love. Love which when nurtured properly within the family can be extended to people outside of it.

A happy celebrant!

As it happens, I was blessed with amazing sisters, one of whom was graduating after completing a degree in Criminology and Criminal justice.

I know right, you can imagine the excitement laced with feelings of accomplishment after all those sleepless nights burning the midnight oil.

Seeing my sister graduate was a moment of pride, joy and absolute pleasure for the entire family and celebrations were in order as we thank God for his mercies.

My Dad, Ed senior and my other sister Jennifer were both in attendance too. Knowing Jennifer, she might try to outshine everyone else in the ceremony including the celebrant. #sideeye

Jennifer trying to outshine her sister #Sideeye

Not that I was competing with them but I wasn’t going to look like a tramp in their midst. So for this reason, I was going to turn up in style.

As you would know by now, I love my suits and always look forward to wearing them at any given opportunity.

I personally think a suit adds an extra dimension to a man’s look no other garment does. A business suit or lounge suit is the most common of suits. Although this kind of suit is common, it doesn’t mean it has to be monotonous and boring.

So in this occasion my style idea was ‘simple with a twist’ or a ‘cool classic’.

I only wanted two colours, well strictly speaking, white does not count as a colour as it is not found on the colour wheel so midnight blue was my colour of choice for the occasion.

Midnight blue is one of those colours that go with almost everything. I say ‘almost’ loosely as from the top of my head I cannot think of any other colour that does not go with it. I think it’s so versatile that you can wear it all year round, day and night, summer or winter.

I recon it’s a good investment so if you do not have a blue suit (especially darker hues), I suggest you go out and get one now. You won’t regret it, ever!

Ok back to the look. As I said above, I was aiming for the ‘simple with a twist’ ‘cool classic’ look, which means one colour only.

With my white shirt providing layering for the suit, there was only going to be two accessories with this look, white pocket square and a watch. No necktie, bow tie, lapel pin or even collar tips.

Ok, in hindsight maybe I could have added a collar tip to give my collars a bit of character but that’s it, nothing else. With my shirt buttoned up and pocket square squared up my idea of simplicity is complete.

Now to add a little twist to the mix, I opted for a pair of white high top leather all-star converse. I could have gone for a pair of brown or black shoes with matching belts but that would make me look just like everyone else. With two folds on my trouser, I made sure the converse was in full view. The reason I chose converse over any other pair of white trainer is that converse in general carries that classic look and they are streamlined and fitted instead of being bulky. This I think goes well with my look. The converse on this occasion is the statement piece.

So next time you put one a suit, think of inventive ways of wearing it. Push fashion boundaries to make a statement.